Albert Einstein
1879-1955
Albert Einstein was a theoretical physicist best known for discovering the theory of general relativity.
Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany in 1879. After attending secondary school in Munich, then Aarau, Switzerland, in 1900 he earned a teaching diploma from the Eidgenössische Polytechnische Schule (ETH) in Zurich. Unable to find a teaching position, Einstein took a job at the Federal Office for Intellectual Property in Bern evaluating applications for electromagnetic devices.
Following the publication of a number of scientific papers, in 1908 Einstein was appointed a lecturer at the University of Berne. The next year he became physics docent at the University of Zurich; two years after that he was made full professor at Karl-Ferdinand University in Prague.
In 1914 Einstein returned to Germany to direct the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics and to teach at the Humboldt University of Berlin. He also became a member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences and, in 1916, president of the German Physical Society.
In 1933, with the threat of Nazi persecution looming, Einstein moved to the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, New Jersey. His letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939, warning of a possible atomic threat from Nazi Germany, spurred the initiation of the Manhattan Project.
Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921. Four years later he was given the Copley Medal by the Royal Society.
Einstein, who became a United States citizen in 1940, was an active member of Princeton's NAACP. In 1952 he was offered the position of President of Israel, which he declined.
Einstein died in 1955.
Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany in 1879. After attending secondary school in Munich, then Aarau, Switzerland, in 1900 he earned a teaching diploma from the Eidgenössische Polytechnische Schule (ETH) in Zurich. Unable to find a teaching position, Einstein took a job at the Federal Office for Intellectual Property in Bern evaluating applications for electromagnetic devices.
Following the publication of a number of scientific papers, in 1908 Einstein was appointed a lecturer at the University of Berne. The next year he became physics docent at the University of Zurich; two years after that he was made full professor at Karl-Ferdinand University in Prague.
In 1914 Einstein returned to Germany to direct the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics and to teach at the Humboldt University of Berlin. He also became a member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences and, in 1916, president of the German Physical Society.
In 1933, with the threat of Nazi persecution looming, Einstein moved to the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, New Jersey. His letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939, warning of a possible atomic threat from Nazi Germany, spurred the initiation of the Manhattan Project.
Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921. Four years later he was given the Copley Medal by the Royal Society.
Einstein, who became a United States citizen in 1940, was an active member of Princeton's NAACP. In 1952 he was offered the position of President of Israel, which he declined.
Einstein died in 1955.
"Albert Einstein." Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2014. Web. 18 Sep. 2014. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/181349/Albert-Einstein>.